The issue of teachers’ pay (or lack there of) is a hot topic among North Carolina’s legislation these days.

While this column is not directly about that, it is related.

I understand the frustration of N.C.’s teachers, due to N.C. paying less than all but four other states (Missouri, South Dakota, Montana and Idaho) according to www.teacherportal.com.

I imagine it is extremely tough on a single teacher in N.C., however, I cannot recall too many instances of seeing a married couple of two teachers struggling.

Most have nice homes, nice cars and live fairly comfortably, even in these dire economic circumstances.

The issue of teachers not being paid well in the state naturally expands to coaches.

Two local young and promising assistant coaches in Craven County have recently uprooted to other states for family reasons mainly, but also for a much bigger paycheck.

Bobby Stauffer (West Craven) was an assistant football, baseball and softball coach for the Eagles for one year.

Stauffer is from Pennsylvania originally and re-located to coach at 1A Cochranton High School in Cochranton, Pa.

He was fresh out of college and a first-year teacher, his only year in N.C., and was being paid the state minimum for starting teachers which is roughly $30,000.

In addition to upwards of a $15,000 per year pay increase with his new job, Stauffer moved back to be closer to his hometown and family.

“I loved my time at West Craven, I really did, and if had not been for family and the money increase, I would have loved to have stayed there,” Stauffer said.

“The people are great and I met a ton of them. The kids are great, so it isn’t that I wanted to leave at all, it's just a great opportunity for me.”

Down the road at Havelock High, assistant football and baseball coach Nick McIntosh and his wife Amy also made a move.

McIntosh has a coaching history in Mississippi as well, where he won a baseball state championship as a head coach.

Like Stauffer, McIntosh is extremely personable and always has the kids’ best interests at heart.

McIntosh also moved for family reasons, after his grandmother left him and his wife acreage of land back home in Louisiana.

He is teaching and coaching at Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, La., which is part of the St. Tammany Parish Public School System.

“It was mostly about moving to be on my land that my grandma left me, but also just with me and my wife as a household teaching and no coaching involved, it is a $24,000 pay increase,” McIntosh said.

Assistant coaches in North Carolina get a $1,000 supplement for each sport they coach.

Both McIntosh and Stauffer said that in there new respective dwellings, the supplements are more toward $3,000 to $4,000.

While I’m not saying N.C. teachers need to get paid something ridiculous like six-figures, they do need be better taken care of financially than they currently are, and maybe some quality assistant and head coaches will not be so tempted to leave.

Jordan Honeycutt can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at Jordan.Honeycutt@newbernsj.com. Follow Jordan on Twitter @JHONEYnbsj29